THE BBC has apologised after one of its football commentators used pidgin English to suggest what a black Manchester United player was saying on the pitch to a referee.

Media watchdog Ofcom criticised the comment made by Alan Green during the Arsenal v Manchester United game last season.

Green was commentating for BBC Radio Five Live when United's Cameroon international midfield player, Eric Djemba-Djemba, was seen remonstrating with the referee.

Green suggested to listeners that the player was saying "me no cheat".

Standards

The BBC has apologised for the incident, which happened on March 28 this year.

It admitted that the comment was "ill-judged", but said it was made in the heat of a live broadcast and was meant as irreverent banter. Ofcom, which received a complaint after the event, said the incident broke its code on standards.

The watchdog said: "We considered that the suggestion that a black player was incapable of speaking grammatical English was inappropriate, particularly given the drive to eradicate racist attitudes in football.

"We believe that the experienced presenter should have been more alert to the implications of his comment."

Five Live controller Bob Shennan has since spoken to Green about the careful use of language, particularly in a live commentary.

The BBC said Green had a well-known track record of campaigning against racism.